Faye Webster is a singer-songwriter from Atlanta who makes honeyed music with a country twang, who sings her life by whispering it in our ear, and who, at 26, has just released her fifth album.
I discovered this artist in the same way as many others, a few years ago, through her song “Kingston”. Immediately charming, with its warm instruments and jerky chorus. The album from which the song is taken generally has the same, very successful effect.
What Webster does today, on Underdressed at the Symphony, stands out for its attention to detail, atmosphere and feeling. It’s fair to say that the album puts you in a state of relaxation, and keeps you there for the duration. Not the kind of relaxation that puts you to sleep, though. More like the kind that makes you want to do nothing but listen, late into the night, far from the sun. It’s a sentiment that the singer also expresses through her lyrics, which denote a sense of inadequacy in the face of the weight of adult responsibilities. She says on the album’s Bandcamp page that its title comes from the fact that, in that period of her life, she often bought symphony orchestra concert tickets at the last minute. The anonymity of being melted into the crowd in this was appealing, otherworldly, even if she wasn’t dressed for the occasion.
If she’s not anonymous on her albums as she is at these concerts, her voice is almost always reduced to a whisper. It’s intimate and enchanting, especially when she assembles her angular harmonies. The album’s best piece, in my opinion, is “Lifetime”. The image of a feather lulled by the breeze before a twilight comes to mind. The song showcases the album’s best aspects: sparkling piano, velvety ambience, high-pitched, languid vocals, slow groove, and strings in measured doses. Also, just enough quirkiness in the chords, in the lyrics. Add to this the fact that all the recordings are (first or second) live studio takes, and we’re obliged to notice the talent on display. It’s easy to imagine Webster and his musicians playing in a smoke-filled room.
If there’s a snag on the album, it’s “Lego Ring” with Lil Yachty, which I find a little out of place, but it’s in no way offensive. The collaboration doesn’t come out of nowhere, however, given that Webster and Yachty are long-time friends.
All in all, Underdressed at the Symphony may have been born from discomfort, but it bears the opposite. The artist has found the kind of honesty that kills shame, and the lightness of knowing that things pass. She’s had the grace to turn them into songs that’ll make you melt into your sofa.
